Belizeans
|
|
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| (Belizeans Approx. 662,000) |
|
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Belize(Nationwide) 356,670  United States300,000  United Kingdom6,000 |
|
| Languages | |
| Predominantly Kriol (Spanish, English, Mayan languages, Garifuna, and Plautdietsch as well) | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity (Predominantly Protestants and Catholics), and minority Rastafarians, Baha'is | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Jamaicans, Mexicans, Guatemalans, Hondurans, Nicaraguans |
Belizeans are people originating in Belize whether they live there or in the Belizean diaspora. Belize is a multiethnic country with residents of African, Amerindian, European and Asian descent or any combination of those groups.
Colonisation, slavery, and immigration have played major roles in affecting the ethnic composition of the population and as a result, Belize is a country with numerous cultures, languages, and ethnic groups.
The Maya are thought to have been in Belize and the Yucatán region since the second millennium BC; however, much of Belize's original Maya population was wiped out by disease and conflicts between tribes and with Europeans. The Belizean Maya consists of three Maya groups now inhabit the country: The Yucatec (who came from Yucatán, Mexico to escape the Caste War of the 1840s) mostly live in Corozal,Orange Walk and Cayo District, the Mopan (indigenous to Belize but were forced out by the British; they returned from Guatemala to evade slavery in the 19th century)Moslty live in Toledo, and Kek'Chi (also fled from slavery in Guatemala in the 19th century). The later groups are chiefly found in the Toledo District.
Kriols make up roughly 21% of the Belizean population and about 75% of the Diaspora. They are descendants of the Baymen slave owners, and slaves brought to Belize for the purpose of the logging industry. These slaves were mostly Black (many also of Miskito ancestry) from Nicaragua and born Africans who had spent very brief periods in Jamaica and Bermuda.Bay Islanders and more Jamaicans came in the late 19th century, further adding to these already varied peoples, creating this ethnic group.
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Wikipedia